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PROPHET JEREMIAH. 



cii^^A^tw ^ 'Y*'**4^ 



Written for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and 
revised by the Committee of Publication. 




BOSTON: 

MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY. 

DiPOSlTORY, NO. 25, CORNHILL, 

1835, 






Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 1835, 

BY CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



^c?// 



THE 

PROPHET JEREMIAH. 



CHAPTER I. 



Jeremiah was born in Anathoth, about 
sixteen hundred and twenty years before the 
birth of our Savior. Anathoth was one of the 
thirteen cities that were given to the priests 
in the time of Joshua. It was situated about 
three miles north of Jerusalem, within the lim- 
its of the tribe of Benjamin. Jeremiah was 
thus of the sacerdotal or priestly race. His 
father's name was Hilkiah. Some have sup- 
posed that this was the high-priest who found 
the book of the law in the temple, in the 
eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah : but 
this is not probable. He is said to be, ' Hil- 



LIFE OF THE 



kiah of the priests that were m Anathoth." 
If he had been the high-priest, it would doubt- 
less have been mentioned. The only ground 
for the opinion, is, the sameness of the names ; 
but as the name was a very common one 
among the Jews, it was doubtless borne by 
more than one individual at the same time. 

Prophets were the special | messengers of 
the Almighty, were commissioned, as he saw 
fit, from every rank and employment in life, 
and were not confined to the family o{ priests, 
Elisha was called while ploughing in the field, 
and Amos w^as '^ an herdman, and a gatherer 
of sycamine fruit." 

Prophets w^ere charged with making known 
the will of God to men. God delivered his 
messages to them in various ways ; sometimes 
by an audible voice, sometim.es in visions or 
trances, and sometimes in dreams of the night. 
They delivered their messages to men in va- 
rious ways ; sometimes by direct address, 
sometimes by parables, and sometimes by signs 
or symbols which the habits of the eastern 
nations rendered it easy for them to understand* 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 



Sometimes they wrote their prophecies on 
pieces of parchment, and caused them to be 
hung up in the temple where all men could 
read them. 

They went very plainly clothed, led a 
laborious, self-denying life; and were often 
exposed to suffering from poverty and perse- 
cution. 

Jeremiah, like Sam.uel, was called at an 
early age to this solemn and responsible office. ' 
The word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 
'' Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew 
thee ; and before thou camest out of the w^omb, 
I sanctified thee ; I ordained thee a prophet 
unto the nations." JeremJah at first attempts 
to excuse himself on account of his youth. 
'' Ah Lord God !" said he, '' behold I cannot 
speak; for I am a child." But the Lord 
kindly encourages him, and gave him his sol- 
emn commission. '' Say not I am a child ; 
for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, 
and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt 
speak. Be not afraid of their faces, for I am 
with thee to deliver thee." Jehovah then 
1^ 



LIFE OF THE 



I put forth his hand and touched his mouth, and 

said, '' Behold I have put words into thy 
mouth, see, I have this day set thee over the 
nations, and over the kingdoms, to root out, 
and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw 
down, to build and to plant." 

He then caused him to see in a vision the 
rod of an almond tree and a seething pot, with 
the face thereof tow^ards the north. By these 
were indicated the nearness and the severity 
of the divine judgments that Jeremiah was to 
denounce, and the quarter from whence the 
executors thereof were to come. As the al- 
mond rod is rapid in its growth, so the judg- 
ments of God would soon appear ; and as the 
seething or boiling pot is violent, so w^ould be 
the approaching judgments : the face thereof 
being toward the north, showed that from the 
" north an evil should break forth." 

The Almighty then commanded him to 
prepare himself for the discharge of the duties 
of the office to which he had thus solemnly 
been set apart. He again graciously encour- 
aged him, promising to be with him and to 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 7 

deliver him from every evil that should threat- 
en him. Thus was Jeremiah consecrated to 
this holy office. 

During the w^hole of the above scene, he 
v^as probably in a vision or trance. It was in 
this way that many of the prophets w^ere set 
apart to their work. Thus it was with Isaiah, 
and Ezekiel, and Daniel, and the beloved dis- 
ciple, John, when he was commissioned to 
write the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

This solemn ordination of Jeremiah occur- 
red in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, 
king of Judah, who was so zealous in purging 
the kingdom from idolatry, and in striving to 
bring back the people to the service of the 
Hving God. In the eighteenth year of his 
reign, Hilkiah, the high-priest, found the book 
of the law, that is, the copy of the Holy 
Scriptures that was kept in the temple. So 
far had both priest and people gone in idolatry, 
that the law of God seems to have lain neg- 
lected and lost in his own house. It was 
found, probably, while removing the monu- 
ments of idolatry with which the temple had 



8 LIFE OF THE 

been filled. It was carried to the king, who 
caused it to be read in his presence ; and he 
rent his clothes as he heard of the judgments 
which were recorded against the violators of 
his law. He then assembled all the elders, 
and priests, and Levites, and all the people, 
and the law having been read in their hearing, 
he caused them all to promise to obey it, and 
to enter into a covenant to walk after the Lord, 
and to keep all the words that were written in 
the book. Thus there was, at least, a pro- 
fessed turning of all the people unto the Lord. 



CHAPTER IL 

Josiah's reign continued eighteen years 
after Jeremiah received his commission. The 
prophecies which Jeremiah uttered during this 
period, are contained in the first twelve chap- 
ters of the book that bears his name. The 
reader is not to suppose that the whole book 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. y 

was written at one time, or in the order in 
w^hich we find it. It consists of a series of 
discourses, delivered by the prophet at differ- 
ent times, dm'ing a course of at least forty-two 
years. These discourses, when committed to 
writing, formed separate prophecies. It is 
probable they were left in this manner by 
the prophet, at the time of his death, and that 
they were collected into one book by some 
person who Hved in after times. To what 
cause it w^as owing that the order of time was 
not preserved, it is impossible for us to learn. 

The reader is also, it is probable, aware of 
the fact, that the division of the Scriptures into 
chapters and verses, forms no part of their in- 
spiration, and is comparatively of modern date. 
It is very convenient by w^ay of reference, yet 
the sense is often thereby obscured. In point- 
ing out, therefore, the various discourses of 
the prophet, no regard is to be paid to the or- 
dinary divisions of chapters and verses. 

The prophecies that were delivered during 
the reign of Josiah, at least those that have 
been placed on record, are comprised in the 



iO LIFE OF THE 

first twelve chapters of the prophecy as found 
in our Bibles. They have been divided into 
four distinct discourses. 

The first is contained in the second and first 
five verses of the third chapter. It appears 
to have been delivered soon after his consecra- 
tion to the prophetic office. 

In this discourse, God expresses his con- 
tinued regard for the Jews ; expostulates 
with them on account of their ungrateful re- 
turns for his past goodness — and shows them 
that the miseries which they had suffered, and 
to which they were still exposed, w^ere in con- 
sequence of their great wickedness : the dis- 
course closes with a pathetic address, exhorting 
the Jews to return to their Creator, and warn- 
ing them of the fatal consequences of neglect. 

May not the same address of the Almighty 
be applied to us ? Has he not shown us con- 
tinued kindness, giving food and raiment, health 
and friends, the blessings of education and the 
means of grace ? Have w^e not been ungrate- 
ful ? Have not our sins been great ? Does 
it not become us to return to God, that w^e 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. II 

^^ perish not by the way when his wrath is 
kindled but a Httle ?" 

The second discourse begins at the sixth 
verse of the third chapter and goes to the end 
of the sixth chapter. It appears to have 
been dehvered a number of years after the 
one above noticed, — probably not till after 
the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign. In that 
year, as we have seen, the book of the law 
was found, and there was an apparent turning 
of all the people unto the Lord. In this pro- 
phecy they are accused of insincerity. It is 
said, " Judah hath not turned unto me with 
her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord.'' 
The conquest and desolation of the land, by 
the Chaldeans, was also predicted in this dis- 
course. This prophecy was fulfilled while the 
prophet was yet hving, so that the truth of his 
mission was fully attested. 

The third discourse, extending from the 
beginning of the seventh to the end of the 
tenth chapter, appears to have been delivered 
soon after the former. It seems there were 
false prophets in the land, who denied the 



12 LIFE OF THE 

truth of Jeremiah's predictions In regard to the 
conquest and ruin of Judah — who persuaded 
the people that they had nothing to fear. 
They pretended that the sacredness of the 
temple would save the city from capture: 
that God had too much regard for his house 
to suffer it to be profaned, and the " habitation 
of his holiness given into the hands of stran- 
gers." 

Jeremiah exhorts the people not to trust to 
these assurances : to give no heed to the lying 
words of those who cried, ^^the temple of the 
Lord, the temple of the Lord." He taught 
them that sanctity of place Would afford no 
protection to the guilty. In proof thereof, he 
calls on them to consider Shiloh, w^here he 
had set his name at first, and see what he had 
done to that, for the wickedness of his people 
Israel; and declares that he would do unto 
the temple as he had done to Shiloh, unless 
they repented. 

People in gospel times are as liable to be 
deceived with false teachers as were the Jews. 
There are those in every age, who cry peace 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 13 

when there is no peace, who preach doctrines 
that will not save the soul. We too, like the 
Jews, are in dano:er of makino; our sacred 
things the grounds of trust as to our salvation. 
We are in danger of looking to our privileges, 
to our pious friends, to revivals of rehgion, as 
grounds of hope for safety ; when it is a sol- 
emn truth, that, unless we repent and receive 
the Lord Jesus Christ, no possession of priv- 
ileges, no pious friends, no abused mercies can 
save us. They will only add to our guilt and 
increase the weight of our condemnation at 
the day of Judgment. 

The fourth discourse, comprising the elev- 
enth and twelfth chapters, was delivered near 
the close of the reign of Josiah ; when the 
people had forgotten the solemn covenant they 
had entered into in the eighteenth year of his 
reign. In this discourse they are recalled to 
their duty, and sharply rebuked for their sins. 
The divine judgments are also denounced 
against them. 

The faithfulness of the prophet in reproving 
sin would by no means be calculated to please 
2 



14 LIFE OF THE 

those who were gulky. He spared neither 
priest nor people, but boldly charged them 
with their sins, and foretold the vengeance of 
God. Many were displeased with him, espec- 
ially among his fellow citizens of Anathoth. 
So high did their hatred arise, that they formed 
a horrid plot to take away his life ; and this 
was done by the priests who were consecrated 
to the service of Jehovah. We can form some 
idea of the wickedness to which the people 
had smik, when the priests could conspire to 
destroy the special messenger of that God at 
whose altars they were appointed to serve. 
They resolved to rid themselves of so faithful 
a reprover. They said, '' Let us destroy the 
tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him 
off from the land of the living, that his name 
may be no more remembered." 

Jeremiah was ignorant of this conspiracy. 
He was like a lamb or an ox that is brought 
to the slaughter^ and knew not that they had 
devised devices against him. But the Lord 
was not ignorant of it ; neither was he forget- 
ful of the promise he made to his servant when 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 15 

he set hira apart to his ofSce. ^' They shall 
not prevail against thee ; for I am with thee, 
saith the Lord, to deliver thee." He reveal- 
ed unto his servant the danger that threatened 
him, so that he was enabled to take measures 
to secure his safety. 

Not long after this the good king Josiah 
was slain. He went out against the king of 
Egypt without consulting the will of the Lord, 
and strangely persevered in his purpose of op- 
posing him, notwithstanding he was assured 
that the king of Egypt was charged with a 
commission from Jehovah. Josiah was slain 
in the battle which his rashness provoked, and 
was brought back to Jerusalem and buried 
amid great lamentations. The prophet Jere- 
miah was greatly afl3icted, foreseeing the evil 
that would follow the accession of evil rulers. 
He composed certain lamentations on the oc- 
casion, which have been supposed to be the 
same that are found in our Bible ; but as those 
were evidently written after the conquest by 
the Chaldeans, we must suppose that those 
composed on the death of Josiah have been 



16 LIFE OF THE 

lost. From the fate of Josiah, we learn that 
even good men are not safe when they are not 
in the path of duty. 



CHAPTER III. 

Jehoahaz w^as made king in the place of 
his father ; but at the end of three months he 
was deposed by the king of Egypt, and his 
brother Jehoakim was placed on the throne. 
During this reign, which was of eleven years' 
[and four months' Jahn] continuance, Jeremiah 
delivered the prophecies recorded in the thir- 
teenth to the twentieth chapter, inclusive, also 
in the twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty- 
fifth, twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh, twenty- 
eighth, thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth chapters. 
These have been divided into twelve separate 
discourses. 

The first appears to have been uttered in 
the early part of the reign of Je.boachim. It 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 17 

foretells the utter destruction of the whole na- 
tion, and mentions;, in particular, the downfall 
of the 'king and queen. This fearless procla- 
mation of unwelcome truth, even at the foot 
of the throne, was not calculated to promote 
the speaker's worldly interests. It probably 
offended the wicked kino;, and encourao-ed the 
enemies of the prophet in their designs against 
him. He suffered so much from their perse- 
cutions, that he made his complaint unto the 
Lord. He again received the most explicit 
promises of the divine protection and presence. 
" I will make thee unto this people a fenced 
brazen wall ; and they shall fight against thee, 
but they shall not prevail against thee ; for I 
am with thee, to save thee, and to deliver thee, 
saith the Lord : and I will deliver thee out 
of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem 
thee out of the hand of the terrible." 

But the assurance of the divine favor w^hich 
he had received, did not lessen the hatred or 
put a stop to the evil designs of his enemies. 
They could not bear to have their guilt charg- 
ed so fearlessly upon them ; they could not 
2^ 



18 LIFE OF THP: 

bear to have the vengeance of the Lord held 
up so constantly to view. , The voice of this 
one man of God troubled them more than all 
the evils that threatened them. They said 
their priests were well enough acquainted with 
the law, and did not need this disturber to call 
it to their remembrance : that they had wise 
men among them, and hence did not need his 
counsel ; and moreover, they had prophets 
who w^ould prophesy unto them smooth things. 
They therefore resolved not to give heed to 
any of Ms words ^ and digged a pit for his souL 
The prophet again carried his case to God, 
and in his prayer prophetically denounces 
against them the judgments of that God who 
has said, '' touch not mine anointed, and do 
my prophets no harm.'' 

He was next directed to procure a potter's 
vessel, and to take with him the ancients of 
the people, and the ancients of the priests, and 
to go into the valley of Hinnom, which was 
also called Tophet, and there proclaim a most 
solemn message from the Lord. This valley 
was " by the entrance of the east gate." It 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 19 

had been in ancient times exceedingly verdant 
and beautiful. In the time of Solomon, the 
worship of Moloch was there set up. A braz- 
en image of this God was erected, with ex- 
tended hands. The wicked idolaters used to 
lieat it with a fire within, and place their in- 
fants on the burning hands. A great noise was 
made with drums and other instruments, in 
order to drown the outcries of the little victims. 
Hence the valley was sometimes called To- 
phet, Tophet being the Hebrew name for a 
drum. 

Josiah, in his zeal against idolatry, '* defiled 
Tophet," 2 Kings xxiii. 10. He caused all 
manner of filth to be carried thither from the 
city, that it might forever be loathsome. Af- 
ter this it continued to be a receptacle for filth, 
and fires were kept burning there, night and 
day, to purify the air. To this place the pro- 
phet repaired and foretold the judgments to 
come on the Jews, on account of their sins. 
^' Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, 
that this place shall no more be called Tophet, 
nor the valley of the Son of Hinnom, but The 



20 LIFE or THE 

valley of Slaughter. And I will make void 
the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this 
place ; and I will cause them to fall by the 
sword before their enemies, and by the hands 
of them that seek their lives ; and their car- 
casses will I give to be meat for the fowls of 
heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. And 
I will make this city desolate, and an hissing : 
every one that passeth thereby shall be aston- 
ished and hiss, because of all the plagues 
thereof. And I will cause them to eat of the 
flesh of their sons, and the flesh of their daugh- 
ters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of 
his friend, in the siege and straitness where- 
with their enemies and they which seek their 
lives shall straiten them." 

Then, breaking the potter's vessel, he said, 
" Thus saith the Lord of hosts, even so will I 
break this people, and this city, as one break- 
eth a potter's vessel, that cannot be made 
whole again ; and they shall bury them in 
Tophet till there be no place to bury." 

Having delivered the prophecy he was com- 
missioned to utter in the valley, he went and 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 21 

Stood in the court of the Lord's house, and 
said to al] the people, '' Thus saith the Lord 
of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold I will bring 
upon this city, and upon all her towns, all the 
evil that I have pronounced against it ; be- 
cause they have hardened their necks, that 
they might not hear my words." 

These fearful predictions were not long af- 
terwards literally fulfilled. 

When Pashur the son of Immer the priest, 
w^ho was chief governor in the house of the 
Lord, and also one of the false prophets no- 
ticed above, heard that Jeremiah prophesied 
these things, he was greatly enraged, and 
smote him, and put him in the stocks that 
w^ere in the high gate of Benjamin, which was 
by the house of the Lord. On the morrow 
he set him at liberty. Jeremiah then repeated 
the unwelcome message that had caused his 
confinement, and foretold to the false prophet 
and persecutor the doom that awaited him. 
'' And thou Pashur and all that dwell in thine 
house, shall go into captivity : and thou shalt 
come to Babylon, and there shalt thou die, 



22 LIFE OF THE 

.and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy 
friends, to whom thou hast prophesied." 

Pashur was not the only enemy that the 
faithfulness of the prophet occasioned. He 
was slandered, and abused, and mocked, and 
insulted daily. Such consequences following 
the deliv^ery of the messages of God, he, in 
the weakness of his flesh, resolved to cease, 
and not to make mention of him, nor speak 
any more in his name, ^^ but," he remarks, 
" his word was in my heart as a burning fire 
shut up in my bones, and I was weary wdth 
forbearing, and I could not stay." Like the 
apostle of after times, a necessity was laid up- 
on him. 

After his release from the hand of Pashur, 
the prophet was sent with a message to the 
king. In it was contained a severe rebuke, 
and an account of that which should befall 
him. " Woe unto him that buildeth his house 
by unrighteousness, and his chambers by 
wrong : that useth his neighbor's service with- 
out wages, and giveth him not for his work ; 
that saith, I will build me a wide house, and 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 2S 

large chambers, and cutteth him out windows ; 
and it is ceiled with cedar and painted with 
vermilhon ! Shalt thou reign because thou 
closest thyself in cedar ? Did not thy father 
eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, 
and then it was well with him ? He judged 
the cause of the poor and needy ; then it was 
well with him : was not this to know me ? 
saith the Lord. But thine eyes and thine 
heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for 
to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, 
and for violence to do it. Therefore thus saith 
the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of 
Josiah king of Judah, They shall not lament 
for him, saying, Ah my brother ; or. Ah sis- 
ter ! they shall not lament for him, saying, 
Ah lord ! or. Ah his glory ! He shall be 
buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and 
cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.'^ 
He also foretold the captivity of his son Jech- 
oniah, and the perpetual exclusion of his pos- 
terity from the throne. 

What effect this solemn rebuke had upon 
the king is not known. The prophet does 



24 



LIFE OF THE 



not appear to have suffered in consequence of 
the bold discharge of his duty. God was with 
him to deliver him. 

The next discourse of the prophet was di- 
rected against the false prophets and workers, 
and is recorded in the twenty-third chapter."^ 

In the fourth year of the reign of Je- 
hoiakim, Jeremiah was directed to foretell 
the conquest of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, 
and the captivity of the people for seventy 
years — and the destruction of Babylon at the 
end of that period. This prophecy is contain- 
ed in the twenty-fifth chapter. These pre- 
dictions were very hterally fulfilled, the former 
during the lifetime of the prophet. At the 
end of the seventy years' captivity, Babylon 
was conquered by Cyrus, the commander of 
the united armies of the Modes and Persians. 

In the same year in which the above pro- 
phecy was delivered, the prophet was directed 
to go and stand in the court of the Lord's 
house, where all the people were assembled, 

* Some say earlier. 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 25 

and proclaim to them the speedy destruction 
of their temple and city, unless the displeasure 
of the Lord were removed by their repentance. 

When he had delivered this message, the 
priests, and false prophets, and all the people 
rose against him in a great rage, and took him, 
saying, '' Thou shalt surely die. Why hast 
thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, say- 
ing. This house shall be like Shiloh, and this 
city shall be desolate without an inhabitant ?" 

A council of the princes of Judah was call- 
ed, and Jeremiah was brought before them. 
The priests and the prophets bitterly accused 
him, saying, ^' This man is worthy to die ; for 
he hath prophesied against this city, as ye 
have heard with your ears.'' 

Jeremiah was then permitted to speak in 
his defence. Though in the hands of his bit- 
ter enemies, who were determined to take his 
hfe, he had no fear, for his confidence was in 
God. His answer to the charges brought 
against him was as follows. " The Lord sent 
me to prophesy against this house, and against 
this city, all the words that ye have heard. 
3 



26 LIFE OF fHE 

Therefore now amend your ways and yoUff 
doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your 
God ; and the Lord will repent him of the 
evil that he hath protiounced against you. 
As for me, behold, I am in your hand ; do with 
me as seemeth good and meet unto you. But 
know ye for certain, that, if ye put me to 
death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood 
upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon 
the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the 
Lord hath sent me unto you, to speak all 
these words in your ears." 

The princes, or members of the council, 
and the people (for they were present) were 
struck with the justness of his defence, and 
were not willing to proceed against one that 
bore a commission from on high. They said 
to the priests and the false prophets, " This 
man is not worthy to die : for he hath spoken 
to us in the name of the Lord our God." 

Certain elders of the land arose and spoke 
In defence of the prophet, and brought forward 
the example of Micah who prophesied against 
Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah, 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 27 

but was not punished on account of his faith- 
fulness. '' Micah," said they, '' prophesied in 
the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake 
to all the people of Judah, saying. Thus saith 
the Lord of hosts, Zion shall be ploughed 
like a field, and Jemsalem shall become heaps, 
and the mountain of the house as the high 
places of a forest. Did Hezekiah king of Ju- 
dah, and all Judah put him at all to death ? 
did he not fear the Lord, and besought the 
Lord, and the Lord repented him of the 
evil which he had pronounced against them ? 
Thus might we procure great evil against our 
souls." 

Notwithstanding this decision of the council, 
and defence of the elders, it is probable that 
the prophet would not have escaped from the 
malice of the priests and false prophets, had it 
not been for the powerful influence of Ahikam 
the son of Shaphan which was exerted in his 
behalf. Thus was Jeremiah again delivered 
out of the hands of his enemies, according to 
the promise of the Lord. 

In the same j^ear in which the events last 



28 LIFE OF THE 

mentioned occurred, Jeremiah was directed to 
commit to writing the prophecies which he 
had uttered. And the Lord said, '^ Take a 
book, and wrke therein all the words that I 
have spoken unto thee against Israel, and 
against Judah, and against all the nations, from 
the day that I spake unto thee, from the days 
of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that 
the house of Judah will hear all the evil that 
I purpose to do unto them ; that they may 
return every man from his evil way, that I 
may forgive their iniquity and their sin." 

Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of 
Neriah, and' repeated to him all the words that 
the Lord had spoken to him, and Baruch 
wrote the same in a book. 

In the next year king Jehoiakim proclaim- 
ed a fast before the Lord to all the people of 
Jerusalem and Judah. All the people assem- 
bled on this occasion at Jerusalem. The 
prophet then directed Baruch to take the roll"^ 

* The ancient books were not bound like ours, but rolled up, 
like a piece of cloth. 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 29 

on which were written his prophecies, and 
read them in the ears of all the people. 

Baruch complied with his instructions, and 
read the prophecies to the people from a con- 
spicuous place in the temple. An individual 
having heard the words that were read, went 
immediately to the princes who were assem- 
bled in council, and gave information of what 
had been done. The princes sent a messen- 
ger to Baruch, requiring him to appear before 
them, and to bring with him the volume from 
which he had read. He came, and at their 
command, read it in their hearing. They 
were greatly alarmed at the judgments that 
were denounced in the name of the Lord : for 
though these were but the repetition of pro- 
phecies that had been previously uttered by 
the prophet, yet it is probable they had been 
forgotten. So soon do the wicked forget the 
most solemn messages of the Lord. 

They questioned Baruch, and found that 
he had written only what Jeremiah had dictat- 
.^d. '' He pronounced," said Baruch, '' all 
3^ 



30 LIFE OF THE 

these words unto me with his mouth, and I 
wrote them with ink in the book." 

They then told him that they should inform 
the king, and advised him and Jeremiah to 
hide themselves where they could not be found. 

They then laid up the volume in the cham- 
be of Elishama the scribe, and went to the 
king and told him what had taken place. The 
king then sent Jehudi for the volume, and 
caused him to read it. It was in winter, and 
a fire was burning on the hearth. When Je- 
hudi had read three or four leaves, the king 
became so angry that he seized the volume 
and cut it with a penknife and cast it into the 
fire. A few of the princes besought him not 
to burn it, but he would not hear them. It 
was entirely consumed. 

Then the king sent to apprehend Baruch 
and Jeremiah, but the Lord had warned them 
of their danger and assisted them to escape ; 
so they were not taken. 

The king and his princes paid no regard to 
the message of the Lord that was read in their 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 31 

hearing ; they had withstood sq many warnings 
that they were hardened in their impenitence. 

Jeremiah was commanded by the Lord to 
take another volume, and to cause Baruch to 
write again the words of the books that the 
king had burned with fire : to this were added 
special judgments against the king. 

Baruch was afraid on account of the part 
he had taken in this matter : the prophet was 
commissioned to assure him that no attempts 
against his life should succeed. [45th chap.] 

The predictions uttered by the prophet af- 
ter this time, during the reign of Jehoiachim, 
are contained in the forty-sixth, forty-seventh, 
forty-eighth and forty-ninth chapter to the 
end of the third-third verse. In these, the 
overthrow of Egypt, Philistia, Tyre, Moab, 
the Ammonites, Edom, Damascus and Kedar 
are foretold. All of which have been accom- 
plished. 

In the seventh year of the reign of Jehoia- 
chim, the king of Babylon made war upon 
him, and he submitted: but at the end of 
three years he rebelled, and the king of Bab- 



32 LIFE OF THE 

ylon came up against him again, and took him 
and bound him in fetters of brass and carried 
him to Babylon. Jehoiachin liis son succeed- 
ed him, but after a short reign he was deposed 
by the king of Babylon, who placed his brother 
Zedekiah on the throne, and made him swear 
by the Almighty that he would remain subject 
to him. Where Jeremiah was amid these 
changes we are not informed: probably he 
lived quietly in retirement, either at Anathoth 
or some more obscure place. At least he was 
preserved alive^ and discharged the duties of 
his office during the reign of Zedekiah, 



CHAPTER IV. 

Zedekiah had occasion to send Elasah 
and Gemeriah with a message to the king of 
Babylon, whom he had engaged to serve. 
Jeremiah sent by them a letter to those vyhp 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 33 

had been carried away captive to Babylon, 
in which he exhorted them to build themselves 
houses, and prepare for a long residence in 
that land. He exhorted them not to believe 
the false prophet that flattered them with the 
prospect of a speedy return to Judea, and as- 
sured them that the captivity should continue 
for seventy years. He foretold the violent 
death of two false prophets in particular, name- 
ly, Ahab and Zedekiah. '' And of them," 
says he, '' shall be taken up a curse by all the 
captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, say- 
ing, The Lord make thee hke Zedekiah, and 
like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted 
in the fire." 

After the receipt of this letter by the Jew^s 
at Babylon, one of their number, Shemaiah 
the Nehelamite, wrote to Zephaniah, the chief- 
priest, and to all the priests, complaining that 
Jeremiah was permitted to prophesy, and to 
say to the captives, as he had done in his let- 
ter, that their captivity should be long. Zeph- 
aniah read this letter to Jeremiah. '' Then 
came the wwd of the Lord unto Jeremiah, 



34 LIFE OF THE 

saying, Send to all them of the captivity, say- 
ing, Thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah 
the Nehelamite, Because that Shemaiah hath 
prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and 
he caused you to trust in a lie ; therefore thus 
saith the Lord, Behold, I will punish Shemai- 
ah the Nehelamite, and his seed : he shall 
not have a man to dwell among this people ; 
neither shall he behold the good that he shall 
do for my people, saith the Lord ; because 
he hath taught rebellion against the Lord." 
Thus severe were the judgments of the Lord 
against those who spoke falsely in his name ! 
In the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, 
messengers arrived from the neighboring na-- 
tions inviting him to join a league against the 
king of Babylon. Jeremiah went to the king, 
and assured him that his only safety laid in his 
being subject to the king of Babylon. He 
besought him not to hearken unto the prophets 
that gave him contrary advice, because they 
prophesied lies. He also repeated the same 
to the priests and the people. Then Hana^ 
niah, a false prophet, stood up, and in his 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 35 

presence, and prophesied that the yoke of the 
king of Babylon should be broken within two 
years, and that the rebels of tlie Lord's house 
wdiich had been carried to Babylon, should be 
restored to their place. Jeremiah, at length, 
was directed to address him as follows, '' Hear 
now, Hananiah, The Lori) hath not sent 
thee ; but thou makest this people to trust in 
a lie. Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, 
I will cast thee off from the face of the earth : 
this year thou shalt die, because thou hast 
tauo-ht rebellion ao^ainst the Lord.^^ In the 
same year, in the seventh month, Hananiah 
died, according to the word of the Lord by 
the prophet. 

The fiftieth and fifty-first chapters contain 
predictions respecting the utter destruction of 
Babylon. These w^ere committed to wTiting 
by the prophet and sent to Babylon by the 
hand of Seraiah. He was directed to read 
the book to the captives, and then to bind a 
stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Eu- 
phrates, and say, '^ Thus shall Babylon sink^ 



36 LIFE OF THE 

and shall not rise from the evil that I will 
bring upon her."^ 

Tn the ninth year of Zedeklah's reign, he 
rebelled against the king of Babylon. In the 
same year king Nebuchadnezzar, with all his 
army, came against Jerusalem, and besieged it 
round about. Zedekiah, while he despised 
and abused the prophet in time of safety, re- 
membered him in time of danger and sought 
his aid. He sent messengers unto him, desir- 
ing him to inquire of the Lord whether he 
would not deliver him from the king of Baby- 
Ion. The prophet bade them tell Zedekiah 
that the king of Babylon should prevail, that 
the Lord himself would fio;ht against him — 
" I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and 
his servants, and the people, and such as are 
left in the city, from the pestilence, from the 
sword, and from the famine, into the hand of 
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into 

* An account of the fulfilment of these and other prophecies 
relating to Babylon, may be found in a little book entitled, " The 
true word of Prophecy j or, Prophecy fulfilled in the Destruction 
of Babylon." 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 37 

the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of 
those that seek their life ; and he shall smite 
them with the edge of the sword ; he shall 
not spare them, neither have pity, nor have 
mercy." He was also directed to inform the 
people, that those that remained should die by 
the sword, and pestilence,' and famine, while 
those that went out to the Chaldeans should 
save their hves. 

At another time during the sieges, Jeremiah 
went to the king and told him that he would 
be delivered into the hands of the king of 
Babylon, but that he would not die by the 
sword but in peace. 

In the mean time the king of Egypt brought 
up an army against the king of Babylon, who 
left the siege of Jerusalem to go and meet 
him. The king sent unto Jeremiah to know 
if the Chaldeans would return to the siege, 
and to desire him to pray unto the Lord for 
the king and the city. Jeremiah assured him 
that the Chaldeans would return, and that the 
city should certainly be taken. 

When the army of the Chaldeans had thus 
4 



38 LIFE OF THE 

departed, Jeremiah resolved to leave Jerusa- 
lem, and to go into his own country, the land 
of Benjamin ; that he might not be in the 
midst of those who were doomed to destruc- 
tion. As he was passing out at the gate of 
Benjamin, the captain of the gate, who was 
named Irijah, arrested him, and accused him 
of the intention of going over to the Chaldeans. 
Jeremiah' denied the charge, but Irijah did not 
believe him. He brought him before the 
princes, who smote him, and put him in prison. 
When he had been in prison many days, the 
king sent secretly and took him out of prison, 
brought him to his house and asked him, '^ Is 
there any word from the Loud ? And Jere- 
miah said, There is : for, said he, thou shalt 
be dehvered into the hands of the king of 
Babylon.'' 

Jeremiah then complained to the king of 
the severe treatment he had received, — 
'^ What," said he to the king, ^' have I offend- 
ed against thee, or against thy servants, or 
against this people, that ye have put me in 
prison ? Where are now your prophets that 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 39 

prophesied unto you, saying, The king ' of 
Babylon shall not come against you, nor against 
this land ?'' He also earnestly besought the 
king that he would not send him back to the 
prison whence he had taken him, lest the 
hardships to which he was exposed should oc- 
casion his death. The king granted his peti- 
tion in part : perhaps, if disposed, he did not 
dare to set him at liberty for fear of the princes : 
he therefore commanded " that they should 
commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, 
and that they should daily give him a piece of 
bread out of the bakers' street, until all the 
bread in the city were spent." 

During his confinement in this place, he 
uttered the prophecy respecting the return of 
the Jews from Babylon which is recorded in 
the thirty-fifth chapter, and that respecting the 
coming of the Messiah in the thirty-sixth. 

Severer sufferings were soon to befal this 
faithful, fearless servant of the Lord. Some 
of the princes came to the king and complain- 
ed of the prophecies he uttered respecting the 
taking of the city by the Chaldeans. They 



40 LIFE OF THE 

said to the king, " We beseech thee, let this 
man be put to death ; for thus he weakeneth 
the hands of the men of war that remain in 
this city, and the hands of all the people, in 
speaking such words unto them : for this man 
seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the 
hurt. Then Zedekiah the king said. Behold 
he is in your hand : for the king is not he that 
can do any thing against you." They then 
took Jeremiah and let him down with cords 
into a deep dungeon, and left him, designing 
that he should perish there. There was no 
water in the dungeon, but mire : so Jere- 
miah sunk in the mire. Here he would soon 
have perished, had not the Lord stirred up the 
spirit of Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch 
of the king's house, who came to the king and 
spake in his behalf, saying, " My lord the king, 
these men have done evil in all that they have 
done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they 
have ca^ into the dungeon ; and he is like to 
die for hunger in the place where he is ; for 
there is no more bread in the city. Then the 
king commanded Ebed^nielech the Ethiopian, 



PROPHErf JEREMIAH. 41 

saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, 
and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the 
dungeon before he die.^' So the Ethiopian 
took men wifth him, and let down ropes, and 
old clothes and rags and directed the prophet 
to put the old clothes and rags around the 
ropes under his arms, that he might be drawn 
up without pain. So they drew him up, and 
he remained as before in the court of the prison. 

Here he soon after received a message from 
the Lord for Ebed-melech, assuring him that 
he should be delivered in the taking of the 
city from those of whom he was afraid, and 
that his life should be preserved because he 
had put his trust in the Lord. Thus the Lord 
blesses those of every nation that put their 
trust m him. 

When the siege was well nigh ended, Zed- 
ekiah sent for Jeremiah, and said, ^' I will ask 
thee a thing ; hide nothing from me." Jere- 
miah promised that he would faithfully answer 
him, provided he would not put him to death. 
And the king swear secretly unto him, '^ As 
the Lord liveth that made us this soul, I will 
4* 



42 LIFE OF THE 

not put thee to death, neither will I give thee 
into the hands of these men that seek thy life." 

Jeremiah then assured him ttiat if he would 
go forth to the king of Babylon, bis life should 
be safe, and the city should not be destroyed : 
but if he did not go out, he should be taken, 
and the city burned with fire. Zedekiah ex- 
pressed his fear lest the Chaldeans should de- 
liver him into the hands of those Jews who 
had deserted to them, and he should thus be 
mocked ; but the prophet assured him they 
would not thus dehver him, and urged him to 
obey the voice of the Lord and live. The 
king charged him to preserve silence as to 
what he had said, and dismissed him, but did 
not follow his advice. Thus it ever is with 
the wicked. They will call on the righteous 
for assistance in the day of trouble, but when 
they are told to obey their God they too often 
dismiss their advisers and go on in sin. 

The king of Babylon, in the mean time, 
pressed the siege. The famine and conse- 
quent sufFering became extreme. At length, 
king Zedekiah, and his princes, and men of 



PROPHET JEREJMIAH. . 43* 

war, resolved to attempt an escape, and left 
the city by night. The Chaldeans pursued 
after them, and overtook them in the plains of 
Jericho. They took Zedekiah and brought 
lim to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who 
:aused his sons to be slain before him, and his 
3yes to be put out. He then sent him in 
chains to Babylon. 

The Chaldeans broke down the wall of 
ferusalem, burned all the city, and carried 
away captive the remnant of the people that 
remained in the city. Some of the poorest 
class of people were left to till the land. 

Nebuchadnezzar gave especial charge to 
the captain of the guard respecting Jeremiah, 
requiring him to take care of him, and to do 
for him every thing that he should desire. It 
seems that he had been brought with the other 
prisoners, bound in chains, to Ramah. The 
captain of the guard there set him at liberty, 
and said unto him, ^'Behold I loose thee this 
day from the chains which were upon thine 
hands. If it seem good unto thee to come 
with me into Babylon, come, and I will look 
4^* 



44 LIFE OF THE 

well unto thee ; but if it seem ill unto thee to 
come with me into Babylon, forbear : behold, 
all the land is before thee : whither it seemeth 
good and convenient for thee to go, thither go." 

Jeremiah expressing a desire to return and 
dwell in his native land, the captain dismissed 
him with presents, and commended him to 
Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had 
made governor over the cities of Judah. This 
Gedaliah was the son of that Ahikam through 
whose influence the life of the prophet was 
spared, at the time when he was arraigned 
before the council. Thus Jeremiah dwelt in 
the midst of the remnant of his people. It 
is probable that the book of Lamentations was 
written at this time. 

Ere long a conspiracy was formed against 
Gedaliah by the king of the Ammonites, which 
resulted in his death. This was a great grief 
to the Jews, for under his wise government 
they had begun to prosper. After this event, 
the leaders of the Jews gathered them togeth- 
er, with the intention of going down to Egypt, 
flattering themselves that they would there be 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 45 

beyond the reach of the Chaldeans, and the 
distresses of war. They sent unto Jeremiah 
to inquire the will of the Lord, promising to 
obey that which should be declared unto them. 
Jeremiah, in the name of the Lord, forbade 
their going into Egypt ; promised them mer- 
cies if they remained in the land, but threat- 
ened them with the sword, and famine^ and 
death, if they departed. 

When he had declared his message, the 
wicked leaders charged him with falsehood, 
saying, ^' Thou speakest falsely : the Lord 
our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not in- 
to Egypt to sojourn there." Regardless of 
the warnings of God, they gathered all the 
people together, and took Jeremiah with them, 
and went down to Egypt, and came to Tah- 
panhes. 

Here many of the Jews became idolaters 
and burned incense to other gods. Jeremiah 
sharply reproved them, and solemnly announc- 
ed the punishment that God would inflict. 
But his reproofs and warnings had no effect. 
They openly declared their purpose of perse- 



46 LIFE OF THE 

vering in Idolatry. The following seem to be 
the last words that were spoken to the wicked 
people from the Lord. '' Behold I have sworn 
by my great name, saith the Lord, that my 
name shall no more be named in the mouth 
of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, 
saying. The Lord God liveth. Behold I will 
watch over them for evil and not for good ; 
and all the men of Judah that are in the land 
of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and 
by the famine, until there be an end of them. 
Yet a small number, that escape the sword, 
shall return out of the land of Egypt into the 
land of Judah ; and all the remnant of Judah, 
that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn 
there, shall know whose words shall stand, 
mine, or theirs." 

Further than this we have no means of 
tracing the history of the prophet. It is said 
that the idolatrous Jews stoned him to death, 
in consequence of his faithfulness in reproving 
them. This is not certain. It is also said, 
by some, that he returned to Judea, and ended 
his days there. But the sacred volume does 



PROPHET JEREMIAH. 47 

not inform on this subject, and hence we must 
remain in uncertainty. Whenever or wherev- 
er he was called, he was doubtless willing to 
go, as his assurance of salvation must have 
been firm, and he had seen and suffered too 
much to allow him to desire a prolonged resi- 
dence on the earth. 

In the foregoing history we have many il- 
lustrations of the fact that God will by no 
means spare the guilty ; that he is faithful con- 
cerning his promise ; protecting those that put 
their trust in him ; and that the word of the 
Lord standeth sure, inasmuch as the predic- 
tions uttered in his name, have been fully ac- 
complished. Great is the Lord and greatly 
to be feared. 



END. 



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